Friday, March 29, 2024
Keepers Creepers Release Blitz
Sweetheart
Sweetheart
Cookie O’Gorman
Publication date: April 25th 2024
Genres: Romance, Young Adult
Sweetheart (suh-weet-hart): Someone who is kind, friendly, and/or lovable. For reference, see Scarlett Kent.
Seventeen-year-old Scarlett Kent likes the idea of love—in theory. She’s just never had time for romance. Voted Most Likely to Succeed, founder of a youth mentoring program, and an aspiring professional violinist, Scarlett has goals—and a list of “firsts” she’d like to complete before graduation.
One thing that’s not on her list: Falling for Sam Bishop.
Flirtatious jocks who sleep through class aren’t her type—no matter how good Sam looks in his jersey. But when her car breaks down, Sam stops to help…which leads to an unexpected offer.
Sam volunteers to help Scarlett complete her list. In return, she’ll help him win back his ex.
It’s a sweetheart deal that should benefit everyone.
But between kissing lessons and pretend dates, Scarlett realizes Sam is the perfect fake boyfriend. And if she’s not careful, he could be her first real heartbreak.
This book features two souls who’re meant to be, one fake arrangement, so many heart-melting kisses and answers the question:
What happens when a perfectionist falls for a player?
Author Bio:
Cookie O'Gorman writes YA & NA romance to give readers a taste of happily-ever-after. Small towns, quirky characters, and the awkward yet beautiful moments in life make up her books. Cookie also has a soft spot for nerds and ninjas. Her novels ADORKABLE, NINJA GIRL, The Unbelievable, Inconceivable, Unforeseeable Truth About Ethan Wilder, The Good Girl's Guide to Being Bad, WALLFLOWER, CUPCAKE, and FAUXMANCE are out now! She is also the author of NA sports romances, The Best Mistake, The Perfect Play, and The Sweetest Game.
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Cursed Wolf Book Blitz
Cursed Wolf
Sophie Ash
(Howling Death MC)
Publication date: March 29th 2024
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance
If the sweet veterinarian finds out I’m a werewolf, she’ll bolt.
But she’s my fated mate, and the beast in me is howling for a taste.I’m the wolf she hit with her car and nursed back to health. I’m also the gruff biker who saved her from her creepy boss.
She has no idea man and beast are one and the same.
We’re from different worlds, but fate’s thread ties us together. She thinks we’re just dating, but she’s meant for me. And as I get to know her, I can’t get enough.
The more time we spend together, the more my wolf howls to claim her. Soon, I won’t be able to hold back the animal within me.
Fate has cursed me with an impossible choice. Reveal my wolf to a human and risk the safety of my pack.
Or force her into my world with a mating bite, and bind our fates forever.
Whether she likes it or not.
This book features fated mates between a human woman and a protective wolf shifter hiding a big secret. Each book in Howling Death MC is a standalone with a guaranteed HEA!
—
EXCERPT:
“I love that brain of yours, but don’t think so much right now Emmaline.” His next kiss was softer, sweeter. The warm rumble of his voice pulled me right out of my head. “Be here with me, beautiful. Just feel.”
Don’t think. Feel. The voice in my head echoed what he said.
In an effort to do just that, I barely lifted my head to kiss him again. My eyelids fell closed and I poured all of my focus into feeling Tryn. The softness of his lips contrasted with the roughness of his beard. The heat of him and the breadth of his body. My hands landed on his back and went searching. When I found the hem of his T-shirt, I dipped under it.
Oh, I did not expect his skin to be so soft. The muscles underneath were hard, but also moved with a fluid grace that I never wanted to stop feeling. I already knew he gave great hugs, but to feel him wrap around me skin-to-skin would be on another level.
As if reading my mind, Tryn made off with his shirt when our kisses broke apart for air. When he lowered to me again, his fingers drifted under my shirt slowly, giving me every opportunity to stop him.
I didn’t. I kissed him harder, molding my body to his. A strong hand lifted me a few inches from the bed, just enough to get my shirt and bra off.
“Fucking perfect,” Tryn murmured along my collarbone before kissing lower.
My gaze found the ceiling. Any other time, I’d be in my head again, wondering if I looked weird topless, if my chest was smaller than what he preferred. But what I was quickly figuring out? Tryn knew how to make a girl feel.
Author Bio:
Sophie Ash is a USA Today bestselling author from Northern California, writing paranormal motorcycle clubs with plenty of bite, as well as passionate retellings of myths and folklore.
When she's not writing, she's probably reading, gardening, vacuuming up cat hair, or enjoying a craft beer in the sun.
Get a free standalone novella when you sign up to Sophie's newsletter! https://BookHip.com/KBRCFWN
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The Rumble and The Glory
The Rumble and the Glory
JA Huss
Publication date: June 27th 2024
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Suspense
Deep in the hills of West Virginia, three small towns have found a way to flourish in the face of extreme poverty. Disciple runs a side-show tent revival that brings in millions of dollars a year. Bishop flaunts traditional ways in the vein of Colonial Williamsburg, luring weary city people to the slow-living lifestyle. And Revenant offers them an experience of sin filled with tattooed bikers and live-music dive bars.
It’s a sacred trinity that worships the almighty dollar and everyone plays their role like a well-trained Broadway actor.
But these hills have secrets, and so do the people.
Twelve years ago, when he was just eighteen and dreaming of a future with his high school sweetheart, Collin Creed learned something about himself. Something so disturbing he left Disciple to join the Marines and didn’t once look back. But all that came to a screeching halt with the congressional hearings, forcing Collin to return home and rebuild his black-ops empire brick by brick.
Lowyn McBride’s heart broke when Collin shut her out and left town without an explanation just as they were getting ready to start their adult lives together. The death of her mother the following year was a make-or-break moment and Lowyn rose to the occasion, giving up her university education to parent her younger sister while building an empire of her own as a specialty antiques dealer.
Anger and desire, guilt and shame—the return of the enigmatic Collin Creed ignites the town and sparks an explosion of emotions inside Lowyn. But he’s not the only one with a secret in his past. Lowyn has always played the good girl to Collin’s bad-boy reputation. But it turns out—she’s just like everyone else up in these hills—not as wholesome and pure as she looks.
The Rumble and the Glory is a cinematic and spicy small-town secret, second-chance romance wrapped up in a cloak of mystery and suspense. It honors the themes of found family, redemptive anti-hero, and is filled with bigger-than-life, morally-grey characters against a backdrop of deceit and deception.
TROPES:
Small Town Secrets
Enemies to Lovers
Morally Grey
Found Family
Second Chance
Childhood Sweethearts
Anti-Hero
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THIS BOOK WILL ONLY BE AVAILABLE AT NOOK, KOBO, AND APPLE ON PRE-ORDER and will release two days early at those distributors. It will go into Kindle Unlimited on the stated release day of June 27, 2024!
Author Bio:
JA Huss is a scientist, New York Times Bestseller, USA Today Bestseller, and a cowgirl who rides English. Five of her books were optioned for TV/film, several of her audiobooks have been nominated for the Audie and SOVA Awards, and she was a RITA Finalist in 2019. She has been an indie author in both fiction and non-fiction for seventeen years and lives on a ranch in Colorado with her family, horses, dogs, goats, donkeys, and chickens.
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Sweetheart Cover Reveal
Sweetheart
Cookie O’Gorman
Publication date: April 25th 2024
Genres: Romance, Young Adult
Sweetheart (suh-weet-hart): Someone who is kind, friendly, and/or lovable. For reference, see Scarlett Kent.
Seventeen-year-old Scarlett Kent likes the idea of love—in theory. She’s just never had time for romance. Voted Most Likely to Succeed, founder of a youth mentoring program, and an aspiring professional violinist, Scarlett has goals—and a list of “firsts” she’d like to complete before graduation.
One thing that’s not on her list: Falling for Sam Bishop.
Flirtatious jocks who sleep through class aren’t her type—no matter how good Sam looks in his jersey. But when her car breaks down, Sam stops to help…which leads to an unexpected offer.
Sam volunteers to help Scarlett complete her list. In return, she’ll help him win back his ex.
It’s a sweetheart deal that should benefit everyone.
But between kissing lessons and pretend dates, Scarlett realizes Sam is the perfect fake boyfriend. And if she’s not careful, he could be her first real heartbreak.
This book features two souls who’re meant to be, one fake arrangement, so many heart-melting kisses and answers the question:
What happens when a perfectionist falls for a player?
Author Bio:
Cookie O'Gorman writes YA & NA romance to give readers a taste of happily-ever-after. Small towns, quirky characters, and the awkward yet beautiful moments in life make up her books. Cookie also has a soft spot for nerds and ninjas. Her novels ADORKABLE, NINJA GIRL, The Unbelievable, Inconceivable, Unforeseeable Truth About Ethan Wilder, The Good Girl's Guide to Being Bad, WALLFLOWER, CUPCAKE, and FAUXMANCE are out now! She is also the author of NA sports romances, The Best Mistake, The Perfect Play, and The Sweetest Game.
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Tuesday, March 26, 2024
The Model’s Last Pose Book Blitz
The Model’s Last Pose
Nancy Pennick
(The Pearl Hotel Cozy Mystery Series, #1)
Publication date: March 26th 2024
Genres: Adult, Cozy Mystery
In a cozy tearoom of a prestigious five-star hotel, three friends embark on a mission to solve a murder along with a koi that appears to read minds.
Faced with a severe case of writer’s block, best-selling author Serena Tate seeks help from her close confidant, Mia, a popular fashion designer. Mia suggests that Serena observe the inner workings of her forthcoming fashion show for inspiration. What unfolds is beyond her wildest expectations—a shocking murder of a supermodel. Together with their tech-savvy friend, Lily, the unlikely trio embarks on a mission to uncover the truth.
—
EXCERPT:
Two koi swam away, but a majestic red one with white fins and tail stayed. “Oh, I see how it is. They’re loyal to Nina. But you?” Serena pointed to the fish. “Have sympathy for everyone.” She threw her head back and blew air through her lips. “Where do I begin?”
When Serena looked at the pond again, the koi hadn’t budged. “I loved him, you know. Madly. Passionately.” She stared at the fish. “Who am I talking about, you ask? My ex-husband, Justice Tate. He was a bad boy, and I loved bad boys. He owned a motorcycle, and we’d go on day trips, seeing parts of the state I’d never seen before. We had fun together, so much fun. When he asked me to marry him, I think I fainted. Not literally. But in my mind, I did.”
The koi’s mouth formed in the shape of an “O”. He, because Serena decided it must be a male, seemed interested in the story. “You want to hear the rest? It gets uglier. Sadder. I can’t really label it.”
Other fish swam by, distracting the red and white koi. He turned away but reappeared after a dip underwater. “What do you like to eat?” Serena asked. “Next time I’ll come prepared.”
The fish seemed to like her statement. Serena swore he nodded. They sat in silence for a moment, and she decided he was waiting to hear more of her sad tale.
“Okay,” Serena finally said. “Fine. I’ll tell you. We were young when we got married. Twenty-one, to be exact. We had two great years together, then I got pregnant with twins. Girls. Justice wanted to name the girls Jade and Jewel like the shiny, precious gems they were, and so we did. At first, everything was fine. Justice was the typical doting dad. But they cramped his style. We couldn’t take off at a moment’s notice with a double stroller. That didn’t fit on the back of a motorcycle. We needed a practical car. I encouraged Justice to choose whatever he wanted so he’d feel invested. Once the girls started school, I thought things would get better.” She paused and shook her head. “Nope.” She put emphasis on the ‘p’. “They got worse.”
Author Bio:
Nancy Pennick grew up and still lives in Northeast Ohio. After a career in teaching, she began writing young adult and romance books. The Waiting for Dusk series includes a historical fiction prequel, Broken Dreams. The sci-fi romance series about time travel has three books-Waiting for Dusk, Call of the Canyon and Stealing Time. The Swedish influences in the series come from her mother whose parents emigrated from Sweden.
Her second YA series-Twenty Nine-had slowly developed over time. One Leap Year, an idea came to her and she created the characters and story based on that special day, February 29.
Nancy has branched out into historical romance with her Clan MacLaren series and romantic suspense, The Secret Billionaire Society and Billionaire's Bride series.
Nancy is married and has one son who helps her when she's challenged by tech, which may be more often than he likes!
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My War My Child Book Blitz
My War, My Child
My Child, My War
Publication date: March 26th 2024
Genres: Adult, Historical
A law student at Dhaka University, Afsana’s future is bright. Her greatest concern is whether or not her parents will approve of her marriage. When they do, the young bride knows she can face anything the future holds.
Then war breaks out.
Six years later, she encounters a ghost from her past-her first husband, presumed dead in the fighting.
My War, My Child vividly and compassionately tells the story of Bengali birangona, the war heroines, whose lives were brutally torn apart by the 1971 War for Independence. Though the fight resulted in the freedom and independent nation so craved by the Bengali people, hundreds of thousands of women’s lives were devastated, leaving them to scrape together the pieces and carry on as best they could-often with children and orphans forced upon them.
This is a piece of history you’ve never heard before, an inside look at the resilience and strength of women around the world.
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—
EXCERPT:
Farzad startled when she touched his arm. Her voice had changed indeed, weaker, but still the voice that in old days—not so very old either—-was the one voice that meant the whole world to him.
For a single instant, his thoughts strayed away into the past, and the marvel of his first love came back to him.
He looked down upon the soft hand that held his arm. He stared at the fingers, held in desperation.
His heart awoke under that touch, like a sudden flash of light, bringing back happy moments. And sad.
He recalled the last look that he had seen on her face at the door when they parted, her face conveying the anxiety of uncertainty about seeing him again.
He remembered that he had turned away abruptly, that in his preoccupied state of mind, he had not spoken one soothing word to her.
Her voice now sounded like a mournful echo of his dead love.
The days when he adored her, thought her the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, the days when he lived on in the bitterness of missing her gentle love for him, could not be revived again.
And it occurred to him that he still had a moment to decide, only a brief moment now, whether to take her back or abandon her.
Author Bio:
Bharati Sen was born in Rangoon, Myanmar and spent much of her childhood growing up in Southeast Asia and West Bengal. She completed a Masters in International Relations, and discovered a passion for writing about disparities and cultural differences, particularly in women. Her debut award-winning book titled, On the Banks of River Sarayu, is a compilation of nineteen stories reflecting the lives of ordinary South Asian women within bittersweet tales. The book was awarded finalist in the 2020 International Book Awards as well as the 2020 finalist for the MiPA Midwest Book Award in the category of Short Stories. Her first novel, My War My Child, narrates the intertwined story of two war heroines during the Bangladesh War of Independence, and will be coming out in Spring of 2024.
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The Professor Book Blitz
The Professor
Skye Warren
(Tanglewood University, #1)
Publication date: March 26th 2024
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
New York Times bestselling author Skye Warren, delivers the sizzling first book in a brand new trilogy, The Professor, a forbidden, student/professor, ex-boyfriend’s dad romance.
One night only with a handsome stranger.
Older. Alluring. Savage. Dominant.
No last names or expectations.
Just raw, carnal, filthy pleasure.I never thought I would see him again.
Until the first day of class. He’s my new professor.
And my ex-boyfriend’s father.He has a world of secrets in his eyes and the weight of the world on his shoulders. I should stay away from him, but the more I try, the more consumed he gets.
His possessiveness is rivaled only by his secretive nature. He knows everything about me, but mystery surrounds him. Shadows threaten the entire university…and our forbidden love.
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—
EXCERPT:
“It’s okay,” he murmurs. “Pretend you don’t want it.”
His kiss is urgent, unyielding. He forces my mouth open, allowing me to feign resistance. Or at the very least, nonchalance. I let him tilt my head back and run his lips down my neck. It’s a terrible game I’m playing, letting him take the fall for our mutual destruction.
I should at least tell him, confess my own desire, even if he already knows.
It would be the honorable thing to do.
“Will—”
“Ah ah,” he says with a slow shake of his head, with a devastating expression of knowing in his dark eyes. “In this office, you will address me as Professor Stratford.”
My secret muscles clench, and he gives me an almost boyish smile.
“This gets you hot, doesn’t it, Ms. Hill?”
How is this possible? I had a heavy course load of classes my freshman year, with professors of every shape and size. They were smart and interesting, and for the most part, at least somewhat arrogant. Professor Stratford is all those things…and more. He’s simply more. More handsome, more mysterious. More playful as he nips at my lower lip.
“I asked you a direct question, Ms. Hill. Don’t make me punish you.”
My eyes widen. It’s not an entirely fake break in my voice. “What kind of punishment?”
“Let’s see,” he says, tugging my T-shirt off, leaving me in my bra. The starkness is enough to make my cheeks burn. He’s fully clothed while I’m shirtless. “For the first offense, I wouldn’t be too harsh. Then again, we can’t have disruptive students, can we?”
I thought his fist in my hair had been perverse.
That holding me up against the window had been a wild form of desire.
This is far worse.
And far better.
At least my body thinks so, becoming hot and clenched, swollen around nothing, hungry to have him inside me again, thrusting and thrusting the ache away.
“I tried to behave,” I tell him, surrendering to the game. Surrendering to him. “I tried to be a good student. It’s just that you were so…distracting.”
That earns me a dark chuckle. Large, strong hands undress me with calm expediency, as if stacking books or finding the right page. With both care and anticipation.
At this moment I’m the worn pages of an old copy of Romeo and Juliet.
He thumbs through my pages.
“You’d blame your professor for your own lack of focus?”
I gasp at his touch, low and intimate. It’s too much, and I scoot back to get away from him. That only lands me on the edge of his desk, smooth wood cool beneath my bare ass. “Maybe I can make it up to you?”
“Extra credit,” he says, musing. “Perhaps an oral report would suffice.”
Author Bio:
Skye Warren is the New York Times bestselling author of dangerous romance. Her books have sold over one million copies. She makes her home in Texas with her loving family, sweet dogs, and evil cat.
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Saturday, March 23, 2024
Harleigh Sinclair and the Ice Crusade Book Blitz
Harleigh Sinclair and the Ice Crusade
Tamara Grantham
(Harleigh Sinclair, #2)
Publication date: March 5th 2024
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance
Finding lost artifacts is my specialty, but when an Inuit artifact is hidden in the wilds of Alaska, finding it could be more difficult than I’ve bargained for.
My name is Harleigh Sinclair. I’ve been using my abilities as a Neotact to find ancient relics with special powers. After teaming up with a man named Jagg Ransom—a Crimson Knight with a mysterious past—we’re on the search for five lost artifacts with immense powers.
Our current quest takes us to a remote village in the Alaskan wilderness. But when we arrive, we’re greeted by angry villagers who blame us for the disappearance of one of their trackers. He’s been kidnapped by my former coworker, and the two are on the path to find the relic before us.
If we can’t find the relic first, the object will fall into the hands of an evil organization called the Blood Raiders. Worse, we’re not alone. The Inuit artifact is guarded by a giant beast of lore—one that would rather see us dead than accomplish our mission.
But failure isn’t an option. If the Blood Raiders succeed in obtaining the relic, they’ll use it in a plot to destroy the world as we know it.
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—
EXCERPT:
I stood at the doorway leading into the vaults of Mr. Walter Prescott’s most prized Neotact artifacts and debated how to steal one. Muted lights reflected over the black square of glass across from me. A hand scanner.
“No keypad. Right,” I said under my breath before pulling off my leather gloves. Air conditioning hummed from the vents of the high-rise tower in San Antonio’s downtown district, and I let the cool air wash over my exposed skin.
A cold shiver skittered down my spine, and I darted a glance at the dimly lit hallway stretching behind me. If things went south, it was my only escape. My new manager, King Khamron, had gotten me this far, but he’d stayed on the bottom floor near the building’s entrance to keep an eye out.
Shaking my head, I turned my attention to the scanner. The glass interface seemed to taunt me. My boss would kill me if I couldn’t break inside.
Why did it have to be a handprint scanner? Why couldn’t they use a no frills, super reliable—and easily hijacked—keypad?
As I concentrated, I sighed in frustration. A jolt of energy sparked through my fingertips. The electrical pulses had gotten stronger since I’d returned from Egypt two weeks ago, and I chalked it up to being exposed to the legendary ankh artifact. Darrell Brownstein, a convicted serial killer and Blood Raider, had planned to kill me with it, but instead, I’d used the ankh against him. He was dead now, along with a dozen of his followers.
Still, there were other Blood Raiders out there intent on taking the Neotact artifacts, which had led me to standing here at the vault of Walter Prescott, father of the famed Jagg Ransom, debating how to break in.
Jagg. I shook my head as an image of his ruggedly handsome face intruded on my memories. I hadn’t seen much of him since we’d returned from Egypt. A week ago, he’d told me he was traveling. Didn’t say where. Hadn’t even texted me since.
Long strands of brunette hair came loose from my ponytail and tickled my cheeks. As I pushed them away from my face, I once again attempted to concentrate on the hand scanner. Jagg Ransom was nothing but a distraction. The idea of turning around and telling King that I’d failed wasn’t a pleasant prospect.
I glanced up at the glass doors barring the vault. I could always break through the glass, but I was sure every security sensor in the building would start blaring the moment I did it.
No, I’d have to be creative about getting inside. I tapped my fingers on my lips, noticing the little electrical pulses popping at my skin like rubber bands. Odd that my powers were reacting this way after touching the ankh.
What if my ability isn’t just different? I asked myself. What if it’s more powerful?
With a deep inhale, I forced my doubts aside and placed my hand against the glass of the hand scanner. My heart raced, and I hoped the scanner couldn’t detect a person’s anxiety through its circuits. If so, I’d get fried in a heartbeat.
A yellow line glowed, starting at the top and moving down. I focused on sensing the last person’s hand that had touched the screen. Closing my eyes, I paid attention to the imprint of every swirl, every arch, every loop. Then, I sent a surge of energy into my hand, morphing it until it matched each of the previously used fingerprints.
I held my breath. If this didn’t work, and I got caught, I’d land in jail faster than I could blink.
Please work, please work, I chanted under my breath. Sweat beaded on my brow as I stared at the scanner.
Maybe it had been Jagg’s father’s hand that had been here. Maybe it had been Jagg himself. With that thought, my heart gave a sudden leap, and I could only imagine how angry Jagg Ransom would be if he knew I was breaking into his father’s prized vault.
Concentrate, I reminded myself, the yellow light still scanning up and down. A single beep chimed, and the light turned green. I released a pent-up breath. The door slid open with a mechanical hiss, revealing the interior of the vault.
Author Bio:
Tamara Grantham is the award-winning author of more than a dozen books and novellas, including the Olive Kennedy: Fairy World MD series, the Shine novellas, and the Twisted Ever After trilogy. Dreamthief, the first book of her Fairy World MD series, won first place for fantasy in INDIEFAB’S Book of the Year Awards, a RONE award for best New Adult Romance, and is a #1 bestseller on Amazon with over 200 five-star reviews.
Tamara holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from Lamar University. She has been a featured speaker at multiple writing conferences, and she has been a panelist at Comic Con Wizard World speaking on the topic of female leads. For her first published project, she collaborated with New York-Times bestselling author, William Bernhardt, in writing the Shine series.
Born and raised in Texas, Tamara now lives with her husband and five children in Wichita, Kansas. She rarely has any free time, but when the stars align and she gets a moment to relax, she enjoys reading fantasy novels, taking nature walks--which fuel her inspiration for creating fantastical worlds--and watching every Star Wars or Star Trek movie ever made. You can find her online at www.TamaraGrantham.com.
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Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Current of Darkness Book Blitz
Current of Darkness
Robert Brighton
Publication date: March 19th 2024
Genres: Adult, Historical, Mystery
“Unforgettable female leads power this stellar historical mystery” (BookLife Reviews) by Robert Brighton, told with “writing that is on par with the cunning of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle” (Manhattan Book Review).
A swirling tale of industrial espionage, love, and betrayal, Current of Darkness follows aspiring sleuth Sarah Payne behind the sleek, honeymoon façade of Gilded Age Niagara Falls and into a shadowy demimonde of ruthless union bosses, saboteurs, and tycoons-including the powerful, handsome, and mysterious Charles Kendall, whose intentions toward Sarah are unclear.
Meanwhile, sultry widow Alicia Miller is set on taking charge of her murdered husband’s company-only to find herself pitted against the new majority owner, who has his own ideas about women in the world of men. But cunning and captivating Alicia has ideas, too-and will stop at nothing to come out on top.
Both women will have to find the courage and resourcefulness-and set aside their own simmering feud-to survive in this “winning story of action, sabotage, cutthroat business dealings, and women daring to be something new at the dawn of the American century” (BookLife Reviews).
A captivating, page-turning, and immersive tale of industrial espionage, love, and betrayal – set against the backdrop of the glittering Gilded Age. Current of Darkness will draw readers in, and hold them under, until its final, explosive pages.
Read the Avenging Angel Detective Agency Mysteries in any order.
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—
ALICIA MAKES AN OMELET
Excerpted from Current of Darkness: Desire & Deceit in the Gilded Age
A Novel by Robert Brighton
© 2024 Copper Nickel, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
When Alicia got back to the front door of Miller Envelope Company, damned if the thing wasn’t unlocked. She jerked the door open and saw none other than her Majority Owner, Howie Gaines, crossing the lobby, his foot almost to the first tread of the staircase.
“Howie!” she called, and he turned.
“Mrs. Miller,” he said. “I hope you weren’t waiting. I usually get here early.”
“We’ll talk about that in a minute,” she said. “But you need to come with me first.”
He returned to the front door. “What’s wrong?” he said.
“Follow me,” she said, crooking a finger. Together they walked along the Division Street side of the building and back to the loading dock area. The cigarette smoker was sitting on the loading dock again, smoking another cigarette. When he spied Gaines, he stubbed out his smoke and jumped down. “Mr. Gaines,” he said. “Good morning.”
“Shevlin,” Gaines said. “Good morning to you.”
“Go get those other two men who were with you just now,” Allie said to Shevlin, waving the back of her hand in his direction. He eyed her and then glanced at Gaines, who nodded. Shevlin hopped up on the loading dock, still trailing smoke, and went into the depths of the factory, and reemerged with the lanky man and the other one in tow.
“What is this all about?” Gaines asked Alicia.
“Teaching a lesson,” she said as the two men shuffled onto the dock with Shevlin. Allie looked up at them. “Who are these men?” she said to Howie, who stood by looking puzzled.
“Utz, on the left, and Kiesler. They’re two of our best delivery men.”
“Mr. Shevlin, Mr. Utz, Mr. Kiesler,” Alicia said. “We weren’t properly introduced earlier. I’m Alicia Hall Miller. Miller as in Miller Envelope. You must know it—it’s your employer.”
The three men could almost be heard to swallow audibly. The lanky man, Kiesler, who seemed to occupy a leadership role, cleared his throat. “We’re sorry, ma’am, about . . . earlier. Didn’t know who you were.”
“I see,” Alicia said. “You’re sorry, then.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Kiesler said.
“And you two? Are you sorry, as well?”
Utz and Shevlin nodded, somewhat sheepishly, mumbling assent.
“Well, good. Thank you for that,” she said. “Now, guess what else you are? In addition to ‘sorry’?”
The men looked back at her blankly.
“You’re fired,” she said. “All three of you. Right now. Go collect whatever shit you have in your lockers and get out.” She looked at her watch. “You have precisely two minutes to leave my property. If you don’t, you’ll wish you had. The chief of police owes me at least one favor.”
Gaines touched her arm. “Mrs. Miller,” he said under his breath, “a word?”
“What do you want?” she said, jerking her arm away. “These men were insufferably rude to me just a few minutes ago.”
“You can’t hire and fire people,” Howie said quietly, his face quite crimson. “You’re a minority owner. You don’t have the authority to—”
“I won’t make a habit of it, Gaines,” she said, “but I just did fire them, and fired they will remain. Now do not challenge me on this, or we’re going to have a very bad first day together.”
The three men were looking at Gaines and Alicia’s little sidebar conference. Gaines turned back to them. “You heard her,” he said. “You’re dismissed.”
The men muttered a few choice words and disappeared into the building to collect their belongings. Allie and Gaines trudged back to the front entrance.
“Those are—were—three of our best workers, you know,” he said to her as they mounted the staircase inside. “Do you know how difficult it is to replace good laborers?”
“You can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs,” she said. “And do you know how difficult it is to replace customers? I don’t want anyone who represents our company to treat anyone in the way I was treated. It’s simply not acceptable. They merely picked on the wrong person today, but my guess is that they’re rude to everyone. And they’re the ones driving around delivering our product? Gaines, we need pleasant, polite people meeting our customers, not surly bastards like those three. And they’re lazy. Smokers are all lazy. Every last goddamn one of them.”
“Fine, fine,” Howie said, as they stood on the upper landing, outside their office. “I don’t disagree with you, but—”
“Then don’t,” Alicia said. “Don’t say, ‘I don’t disagree with you,’ and then begin disagreeing with me. I absolutely loathethat sort of thing. It reminds me of visitors who drop by and, after a few minutes, consult their watches and say, ‘Well, I’d better let you get back to your more pressing matters,’ or some such horseshit. They’re the ones with pressing matters, and they want to blame me for it. If I have pressing matters, I say so.”
Howie seemed perplexed.
“Do you understand, Gaines? It’s a simile. I’m drawing a comparison, so that you can understand what your new business partner hates.” One corner of her mouth rippled up.
“Yes, yes, I understand.”
“Then you know what I would like to do? When you introduce me to the company today—the whole staff—I am going to emphasize that every person who works here is going to treat everyone as though he were a customer. Or she. Or they’ll be hitting the bricks, just like Shevlin and company.”
“People aren’t going to like that,” he said, working the lock of their office door and putting his hand on the doorknob.
“Isn’t that their hard luck. Oh, and by the way”—she put her hand over his on the knob—“these offices open at 7:30, sharp. Not 7:45, not between 7:35 and 7:30. We can’t expect anyone else to be punctual and attentive to their jobs if we’re not. People look at us and decide what they can get away with. We have excellent streetcars here in Buffalo, and broad sidewalks, and so there’s no cause to be late. None. Understand?”
Howie smirked at her. “You will understand, Mrs. Miller, I don’t plan to be lectured by a minority owner—”
“It’s Alicia,” she said. “Or just Miller. Like any other business partner. Not Mrs. Miller. I’m not calling you Mr. Gaines, you can depend on that.”
“As you wish, Miller,” he said. “Now may I please go into my office?”
“It’s our office, and yes, you may.”
Author Bio:
Award-winning author Robert Brighton is an authority on the Gilded Age, and a great believer that the Victorian era was anything but stuffy. In his Avenging Angel Detective Agency Mysteries, Brighton exposes the turbulence of the era - its passions, dreams, and disasters - against a backdrop of careful research on the places, sights, sounds, and smells of the time.
When he is not walking the streets in the footsteps of the Avenging Angels, sniffing out unsolved mysteries, Brighton is an adventurer. He has traveled in more than 50 countries around the world, personally throwing himself into every situation his characters will face - from underground ruins to opium dens - and (so far) living to tell about it.
A graduate of the Sorbonne, Paris, Brighton is an avid student of early 20th Century history and literature, an ardent and relentless investigator, and an admirer of Emily Dickinson and Jim Morrison. He lives in Virginia with his wife and their two cats.
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Invocation
Invocation
Aileen Erin
(Days of Iron and Clay, #1)
Publication date: March 19th 2024
Genres: Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult
From USA Today Bestselling Author Aileen Erin comes an all-new action-packed, romance-filled paranormal series.
There are three things I know without question.
One: demons are real.
Two: humans make awful mistakes that get them in demonic trouble more often than you’d think.
And three: I’m the only one who can help them.
I straddle the line between the mortal and spiritual realms every day. People might think they’re two different places, but they’re not. They lay on top of each other. It’s messy, and that’s why so many people need my help. Since I was little, I’ve been called all kinds of names—unusual, abnormal, even insane. Which is fitting, since they keep throwing me in to mental facilities. I’ve been in and out of them my entire life.
But no matter what people say, no matter what I’m risking, I will always help those in need.
Because there’s an endless war carrying on all around us, every minute of every day. One that can’t be seen by mortal eyes. But I can see it, the spiritual battle for mortal souls, and I’m working hard to make sure my father is on the losing side. He — Astaroth, Satan’s general— is why I can do this. He’s why I’m not normal. I can’t have friends, a life, or a boyfriend. I won’t be selfish enough to drag someone into this fight. But I’m not lonely. Not exactly. I have my mom. She’s my rock, my best friend, my partner. She helps me do what needs to be done, and she’s never afraid when it feels like I’m always afraid.
Because I hear my father whispering my name each night, his taunts echoing through the spiritual realm. He’s hunting me, and I know the day will come when I must face him again.
Every portal I open could be the one that finally pulls me back to Hell, and I wonder if I will brave enough, strong enough, good enough to fight him.
My name is Samantha Catherine Lopez, and I am Nephilim. This is my story.
**Fans of the Alpha Girls series will love this new series set in the same world, with a few familiar faces, but you DO NOT have to have read a single word of the Alpha Girls series to enjoy Samantha’s story.
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks
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EXCERPT:
The heat from the fires of Hell were burning my feet. I needed to close the portal, but I needed to get up to the other side before I did.
And then there was a warmth—not like the burning heat from Hell—but something else—something soothing—and I knew what I had to do.
I had to get rid of the tie.
I couldn’t cut it—I’d tried that so many times—but I could shove it away. I could lessen its effects. I’d even burned it out once.
If it worked before, it could work now.
I blocked everything out except for the feeling of the tie that bound me to my father. It was always there—a leash of fire that wrapped around my body, my soul—thicker than any other tie I’d seen before on a living person. But it wasn’t just a demon-mortal tie. It was a father-daughter tie.
The tie connecting us grew hotter, burning, and I focused everything I had on burning it out.
I let my outrage fuel me. The outrage of how this monster—my father—had hunted me my whole life, tortured my mother, dragged me to Hell, and made it impossible for me to have any kind of innocent childhood.
He’d robbed me over and over of everything good.
Not this time. He wouldn’t win this time.
He laughed. He actually laughed at me. “I gave you life. I gave you your powers. Just as I give, I can take it all away.”
No. I didn’t believe that.
And I wasn’t quitting. I wasn’t listening to him.
Screw him.
I pulled again, but it didn’t work. He started to say something about how I was a failure, but screw him. Screw failing. Screw everything but sending him back to Hell.
But my mouth was dry and I wanted to throw up and my body was starting to feel weaker and my arms started to shake.
An evil, deep rumbling noise had fear skittering along my skin.
I was getting too tired, too quickly.
And then it clicked.
He wasn’t just controlling me. He was draining my strength through our tie.
Fast.
I had to be faster.
Quickly, as quick as I could, I pictured the tie knotting and pulling tight, cutting off my father’s influence. I pictured it again—forcing my will on the tie.
Knotted and pulled tight.
Knotted and pulled tight.
Slowly, with every knot, I felt my father’s control lessening. Just enough so that I could think and—
Where was Eli?
That one thought broke through.
It was a tiny crack, but it was enough.
“Eli!” I screamed along the spiritual realm as loud and with as much force as I could. I tried to pull myself up, but my arms were too tired.
The demons below me started screaming and moving faster. They knew who I’d called, and they knew what he could do to them.
Something hit my feet.
I jerked my leg away, and my hands slipped and—
Phoenix’s face suddenly above mine.
He was now hanging halfway through the portal. The only thing keeping me from dropping was his grip on my wrists. “Samantha. Please! Can you hear me?” His voice was deep and calm as it washed over me.
“I can now. Thank you.”
“Pull me up. Now. Hurry.”
“On the count of three. Okay?” He smiled. Even while all this insanity was happening—he smiled and it calmed me again and gave me confidence.
Why? I couldn’t say. But it did.
“One…Two…Three.” He pulled a little, and then all of a sudden, jerked me up, and I was lying on top of him.
“Thanks.” I gasped out the word and let my body relax against his for a second.
“You’re welcome.”
Author Bio:
Aileen Erin is half-Irish, half-Mexican, and 100% nerd–from Star Wars (prequels don’t count) to Star Trek (TNG FTW), she reads Quenya and some Sindarin, and has a severe fascination with the supernatural. Aileen has a BS in Radio-TV-Film from the University of Texas at Austin, and an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. She lives with her husband in Los Angeles, and spends her days doing her favorite things: reading books, creating worlds, and kicking ass.
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